Man pleads guilty to carjacking in Pawtucket

July 9, 2011

PROVIDENCE â€“ Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Eric Tipple has pleaded guilty to charges in the July 20, 2010 carjacking of a 72-year-old woman in the CVS/pharmacy parking lot on Smithfield Avenue, Pawtucket.
Tipple, 24, whose last known address is on Obed Avenue, North Providence, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree robbery before Superior Court Magistrate William J. McAtee, who sentenced him to 30 years with 18 to serve, with the remainder suspended with probation.
He has been held without bail since the incident because he had been a probation violator. Had the case proceeded to trial, the state was prepared to prove that, as the victim exited her automobile during the evening hours last July 20, Tipple threw her to the ground, then grabbed her pocketbook and car keys.
He then fled with the victim's car, later abandoning it in Lincoln. The victim suffered minor injuries, and the automobile sustained some damage.
Witnesses called the Pawtucket police immediately, and later identified Tipple from a police photo array. Pawtucket officers arrested the suspect three days later, on July 23.
â€śAt only 24 years old, Tipple has racked up a long list of violent crimes, including breaking and entering, felony assault and drug charges,â€ť Kilmartin stated. â€śThis cowardly carjacking was yet another of his senseless acts of violence, all for only $20.
â€śWe are fortunate the victim was not seriously injured,â€ť he added. â€śI commend the brave actions of the witnesses who came to the victim's aid, and to the Pawtucket Police Department for the swift apprehension of this man before he could commit another crime.â€ť
Det. Charles â€śChipâ€ť Devine led the investigation for the Pawtucket police, and Special Assistant Attorney General Roger Demers handled the case for the Office of the Attorney General.